When a radio access network (radio access network, RAN for short) is implemented based on centralized processing (Centralized Processing), collaborative radio (Collaborative Radio), and a real-time cloud infrastructure (Real-time Cloud Infrastructure), an obtained green radio access network infrastructure is referred to as a C-RAN.
In the prior art, a C-RAN architecture mainly includes three parts: a distributed wireless network including a radio remote unit (Radio Remote Unit, RRU for short) and an antenna; a baseband processing unit (Building Base band Unit, BBU for short); and an optical fiber that connects the radio remote unit and the baseband processing unit. With the C-RAN architecture, an operator may quickly deploy or upgrade a network. The operator only needs to deploy some new radio remote units and connect the new radio remote units to the baseband processing unit by using the optical fiber, which may easily expand network coverage or increase a network capacity. If network load increases, the operator only needs to add a processor in the baseband processing unit.
However, in the C-RAN architecture, because the radio remote unit and the baseband processing unit are separated, in a process of connecting the two, a large quantity of fiber links need to be deployed. Therefore, in a place with insufficient optical fiber resources, it is extremely difficult to implement the C-RAN architecture.